God and Other Mysteries: A Look into the Religious and Spiritual Beliefs of Canadians

Toronto, ONTARIO - According to a recent study conducted by Ipsos-Reid on behalf of Reader's Digest of Canada on the religious and spiritual beliefs of Canadians, Canada is fundamentally a nation that believes in God. In fact, eight in ten (78%) Canadians say they believe in God. Two-thirds (64%) definitely believe in God, while a further 14% say they sometimes believe in God, but at other times don't. Just one in ten (10%) Canadians indicate they do not believe in God, while 12% say they are unsure or don't know believe in God.

Based on the results of the study, the following can be said of Canadians overall and their religious and spiritual beliefs:

• 78% of Canadians definitely (64%) or partially (14%) believe in God;

• 66% of Canadians identify themselves as Christian;

• 23% of Canadians attend religious services `once a week or so'; 45% of Canadians indicate that they pray on a daily basis;

• One in four (27%) Canadians indicate that their personal belief in God has increased over the years, while 13% say their level of belief in God has declined;

• 61% of Canadians say they believe in `angels', and 26% of this group has had personal experience with `angels';

• 43% believe in `out of body experiences'; 29% in `past-life regression'; 27% in `channelling or the ability to communicate with the dead'; and 18% in `witchcraft and spells';

• Four in ten (38%) Canadians think `the world would be a better place if everyone shared my beliefs in spiritual matters'.

Looking specifically at the views of Canadians who believe in God, partially believe in God or are unsure in their belief (excluding those who explicitly state they `do not believe in God'):

• 77% say God is an impersonal spiritual force, while 17% view God as a person;

• 75% indicate `God is an ever-present force in my life';

• 78% agree that `God is the one who created you, but left you with free will';

• 81% feel that their `faith gives my life more meaning';

• 61% say the religious texts of their faith should be understood as `allegories or myths to guide human behaviour', while 44% say that their religious texts `should be taken literally'.

• One in ten (13%) believes that `God punishes through illness such as AIDS, misfortune or natural disasters such as floods or earthquakes'.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted on behalf of Reader's Digest between June 3rd and June 5th, 2003. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,006 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data.

Please open the attached PDF files to view the full factum and detailed tables.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:
Andrew Grenville
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid /Ipsos-Insights
(416) 324-2900